Rosh Hashanah is a significant Jewish holiday that marks the Jewish New Year. It is a time for reflection, repentance, and renewal. During Rosh Hashanah, communities come together to pray, reflect, sing and enjoy festive meals. It is a time to seek forgiveness, make amends, and set intentions for the year ahead.
These children's books about Rosh Hashanah serve as a valuable introduction to the Jewish New Year.
For your convenience, we've included publisher's descriptions along with each book.
It's Challah Day! A family mixes, kneads, and braids bread in this joyful, rhyming story about a Jewish holiday food that's baked with love.
From kneading sticky dough to gathering with family around the table, Challah Day celebrates family, food, heritage, and tradition! Join this happy family as they bake delicious braided egg bread for their Friday night Shabbat dinner.
Yeast and sugar - water's warm,
mix and watch those bubbles form!
Crack the eggs - one... two... three... four
Extra if some hit the floor.
Messy flour and laughter abound. The scent of warm bread fills the house. Grandma and Grandpa bring the candles and hugs. Parents, kids, and baby too, can read this kid-friendly, rhyming recipe together.
Inspired by memories author Charlotte Offsay and illustrator Jason Kirschner have of baking Challah with their children, Challah Day celebrates the sweetness of sharing homemade food as a family.
In the back of the book, read about the cultural importance of Challah and Jewish traditions. This read aloud can be a joyful introduction to a new culture or a cozy way to celebrate a familiar one. Perfect for any occasion as a holiday gift or the start of a new weekly tradition. A Challah recipe is included.
Rosh Hashanah with Uncle Max: Uncle Max is coming to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the birthday of the world, with the people he loves. They watch the sun go down, eat their holiday meal, dip challah and apples into honey for a sweet year, and listen to the sound of the shofar.
From award-winning author Linda Elovitz Marshall and illustrator Zara González Hoang comes Measuring a Year, an engaging picture book about celebrating Rosh Hashanah.
Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur mark the beginning of the Jewish New Year. They offer a chance to think about the present and the past, to "measure" a year and ourselves.
This sweet and thoughtful picture book, perfect for reading aloud, invites young readers and their families to take stock of the happy times and the occasional regrets, as well as the new friends made and new skills gained over the year. Happy New Year! Shana Tova!
Includes an author's note featuring additional context about Rosh Hashanah and its customs.
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This warm and welcoming New Year celebration invites readers to learn about Rosh Hashanah and Lunar New Year traditions and to reflect on the rich blends of cultures and traditions in their own lives.
For this multicultural family, inspired by the author's own, two New Years mean twice as much to celebrate! In the fall, Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, offers an opportunity to bake challah, dip apples in honey, and lift voices in song. In the spring, Lunar New Year brings a chance to eat dumplings, watch dragon dances, and release glowing lanterns that light up the sky.
With bright, joyful prose and luminous illustrations, Richard Ho and Lynn Scurfield invite readers of all backgrounds to experience the beauty of two New Year traditions, paying homage to the practices that make each unique while illuminating the values of abundance, family, and hope that they share.
Full of opportunities to reflect on the rich blends of cultures and traditions in our lives, this moving picture book is a beautiful reminder that, at heart, our celebrations might not be so different after all.
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